Daily Number

27%

February 18, 2016

More than 37,000 bacterial sexually transmitted infections (such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) were diagnosed in 2014, an increase of 27 percent since 2009, according to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.

That was the last year the state provided funding for women’s health centers. Although the funding was only $7.45 million, it was matched 10 to 1 by the federal government.

The report also claims that more than 1.1 million women in New Jersey are in need of contraceptive services and supplies, and nearly 40 percent are in need of contraception that is publicly funded, which is a 5 percent increase. And while more New Jersey residents have health insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act, nearly 295,000 women of reproductive age were uninsured in New Jersey last year. Women’s health centers traditionally provide cancer-screenings, birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and preventive healthcare to this population.